


nightmares and touch

by tuxedosam



Category: Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls
Genre: Childhood Trauma, Families of Choice, Fluff, If you ship these two I'm going to GET you, Nightmares, Past Child Abuse, Past Tense, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, it's 5am
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-15 14:15:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28690011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tuxedosam/pseuds/tuxedosam
Summary: Kotoko wakes up her servant because she had a bad dream.
Relationships: Komaeda Nagito & Utsugi Kotoko
Comments: 4
Kudos: 40





	nightmares and touch

**Author's Note:**

> *cracks my knuckles* I am going to save the entirety of the Warriors of Hope tag if I can fucking help it I am going to write cute pure shit to drown out the Freaks anyways if you sexualize Kotoko or ship her with adults this fic is not for you and I hate you thanks

The light was dim from the hallway, peeking in with specks of dust. Nagito peeled himself from sleep to see Kotoko standing about a foot away from his makeshift bed. In reality, it was a broken mattress on the floor surrounded by dirty clothing that belonged to the children and bloodstains of unknown origin.

“Servant.” a small, high voice that was occasionally echoed by a sob whispered. “Servant, are you awake?” The child sniffled, tiptoeing towards him in her pink silk nightgown that was filled with tiny holes. Once his vision sharpened from vague, foggy shapes he noticed that she was cryin and crying pretty hard.

There was no clock in the room, just darkness. He was pretty sure his room in the children’s base was a repurposed walk-in closet. That didn’t matter at the moment. “What is it Kotoko?” he grumbled, wiping the thick jelly of sleep from his eyes. It must have been four in the morning, at least. Normally Jataro would have woken him up with an update on his chronic bedwetting, or Daimon would have forced him awake to run laps.

Today, however, was different. “Servant, I want a hug.” she demanded, her lips forming into a quite adorable pout with a tiny stomp of her foot. It was ‘quite adorbs’ as she’d put. 

That was an easy request to do for a servant like him to fulfil, but the moment he extended his arm out to her, she screamed. Loudly. “N-No!” she shrieked, recoiling as his arm came towards him. “Don’t  **_fucking_ ** touch me! Touch me and I’ll kill you, then bring you back, then kill you again!”

Nagito quickly drew his arm back and sat up, rubbing the back of his neck. That instantly woke him up. Who needs coffee when you have five terrible children? He paused for a second, struggling to get his mitten on from under the covers. They weren’t ready to see that. Hopefully they’d never see that. 

“How can I help?” he asked, holding his hand in the air for a brief moment before returning it to his side. A soft sigh left his mouth as he watched her pull her pigtails and shake violently, small hiccups and sobs escaping her mouth. “Kotoko.” he began, attempting to shush her without making contact. “Kotoko, please. How can I help?” he asked, unsure what to do with his hands.

Silence filled the room, tension was thicker than the fog that filled Towa City. Kotoko took a deep, shaky breath. “Can you hold my hand?” she whimpered, running her fingers through her hair the same way  _ she _ used to. He hated the way they picked up traits from her. That wasn’t important, taking care of his kid was. 

Slowly, carefully, he reached out towards her. She grabbed his hand with an iron grip, holding three of his fingers with her whole hand. He suddenly felt the weight of her crawling into a little ball on his lap, like a cat. Most of the children were like cats, feral kittens that only knew how to hiss and spit until given love and affection. Very much like a cat, Kotoko was nuzzling into his side.

Very adorbs.

He found himself wiping away her tears with his mitten, and her blowing her nose directly into his shirt. At least he was finally to all of the kids using him as their personal handkerchief. A minute of silence turned into five, which somehow shifted into a full ten minutes of silence. “Kotoko?” he whispered, letting her fingers drop to her side.

“Hm?” she peeped, wiping the sleep from her eyes and grabbing his fingers instinctively once again. “Servant? When did I fall asleep here?” she asked, removing herself from his lap and stretching on all fours. Just like a kitten, a little pink kitten. Why was she so cute?

He smiled warmly, giving her hand a quick squeeze before letting her go. He sighed, running a hand through her hair. It was amazing how she never seemed to get bedhead like the other children, especially with all that hair. “Would you like me to carry you to bed?” he asked, giving her a quick pat.

“Yes.” she replied, holding her arms to be picked up. Out of all of the children, she was pretty heavy compared to the rest of them. Monaka and Nagisa were sticks compared to her and Daimon. Kotoko paused, puffing out her cheeks. “But carry me like a princess.” she demanded, scrambling into his arms.

The humble servant laughed, shifting her body so she could be carried bridal style. It felt a bit awkward for the both of them because his chain was inches from her face and Nagito didn’t have the brain capacity to know not to carry things with his legs and not his back. He took slow, careful steps and the child found herself drifting to sleep once again.

Kotoko’s voice was a faint hum, rambling about how she and Monaka were princesses and a stork were going to bring them a kid so they could have another friend to play with. It made Nagito smile, seeing such hope in her voice despite how close she was to passing out in his arms.

Before he could open her bedroom door, he felt a tug on his shirt.

“Servant?” a small, slow voice asked from his hip. It was Jataro. “Why are you carrying Kotoko like that? Did she die?” he asked, scratching at an area under his mask. Nagito realized he probably had a rash from that leather rubbing against his skin constantly; better ask Kamukura for some sort of skin cream next time he visited. “I wonder what it’s like to die.. Nagisa says it’s like sleeping forever… But Daimon says you pee yourself when you die.” he rambled.

Kotoko was snoring in his arms. Thank god she didn’t have to hear this.

Nagito smiled warmly, shifting Kotoko into a position that would allow him to grab the other child’s hand. “Let me tuck our princess into bed, then I can tell you what death is like, okay?” he promised, giving Jataro’s mask a soft ruffle. It felt unnatural, but he seemed to appreciate it quite a bit.

Slowly, he tucked Kotoko into bed. Her snores were soft and peaceful, and she was cuddling a pink and white stuffed rabbit as she slept. The rabbit seemed familiar to Nagito, just missing an overly cartoonish diaper and sentience. Maybe some magical powers too, who knows? That sort of familiarity felt like a distant dream, or a simulation of sorts.

Walking out and closing the door without stirring the children was the hardest part. 

Monaka always would cling to his arm, almost constantly the gloved one with an iron grip until she was out cold. Jataro never seemed to sleep unless the door was closed and the room was encased with darkness with the exception of a small Monokuma nightlight. Nagisa was probably the only one who could confidently go to bed by themselves, he would read himself a book then tuck himself in.

Surprisingly, Kotoko stayed sound asleep long after the door was closed, and Nagito’s conversation with Jataro had made it all the way to his bedroom.

Hopefully she wouldn’t get any more nightmares.


End file.
